recent grad ADA taking questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 1L at a T10 who applied to a few DA's offices in NYC, but I am having trouble getting interviews.
Other than DA and USAO gigs, what summer jobs do you think DA's offices like in new hires?

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 1L at a T10 who applied to a few DA's offices in NYC, but I am having trouble getting interviews.
Other than DA and USAO gigs, what summer jobs do you think DA's offices like in new hires?

I think anything criminal law or public service related. Public defenders offices, legal aid organizations, civil gov't offices like state AGs, city law departments, federal agencies, etc.

[Anonymous User]

I work at a big USAO now (on civil side) and I've been thinking about doing prosecution once I finish law school, as I really like the atmosphere and it feels nice to be doing substantive work. However, I've felt in the last year or so that we are perpetually short of resources; not just manpower, or money for experts, but just in terms of the quality of the help we can get or the technology we have access to which at least for me, is a big deal if there's a ton of e-discovery material and you're getting an enormous paper dump without the same database tech to alleviate the burden. I've always wondered, is it the same at the DA level as well? Do you ever have an acute feeling of being at a disadvantage because you're the DA's office and not a firm? (not really talking about the "perks" of the job) Particularly in the context of slashed budgets during the economic downturn and salary/hiring freezes? Thank you.

[Anonymous User]

I work at a big USAO now (on civil side) and I've been thinking about doing prosecution once I finish law school, as I really like the atmosphere and it feels nice to be doing substantive work. However, I've felt in the last year or so that we are perpetually short of resources; not just manpower, or money for experts, but just in terms of the quality of the help we can get or the technology we have access to which at least for me, is a big deal if there's a ton of e-discovery material and you're getting an enormous paper dump without the same database tech to alleviate the burden. I've always wondered, is it the same at the DA level as well? Do you ever have an acute feeling of being at a disadvantage because you're the DA's office and not a firm? (not really talking about the "perks" of the job) Particularly in the context of slashed budgets during the economic downturn and salary/hiring freezes? Thank you.

There's no question that gov't agencies have fewer rescources. I bet you can't find a DA's office that doesn't wish it had more ADAs, more paralegals, investigators, accountants, etc. It's not even in the same world as firms. That's true in any economy, but I don't know if it's particularly bad in this one. There still are a lot of federal grants out there, which is helping things. But there's just no reprographics or word processing department at any gov't agency these days.

[tome]

How much do you get paid?

[ceereeus420]

Can someone become a prosecutor/DA if they have been arrested for marijuana possession but never convicted?

[BrianGriffintheDog]

Would it be possible to become ADA/DA after working in big law for couple of years? Or will this count again me when it comes down to hiring?

[tome]

Would it be possible to become ADA/DA after working in big law for couple of years? Or will this count again me when it comes down to hiring?

Yes and probably not.

[npe]

Would it be possible to become ADA/DA after working in big law for couple of years? Or will this count again me when it comes down to hiring?

Yes and probably not.

I have most certainly heard otherwise, though this could vary by office. Remember you'll be going against PI gunners with resumes screaming prosecution/government work.

[Core]

I'm a 1L at a T10 who applied to a few DA's offices in NYC, but I am having trouble getting interviews.
Other than DA and USAO gigs, what summer jobs do you think DA's offices like in new hires?

I think anything criminal law or public service related. Public defenders offices, legal aid organizations, civil gov't offices like state AGs, city law departments, federal agencies, etc.

Thanks - ended up scoring an internship with a DA's office in NY .

Question: How important are grades/school rank for being hired as an ADA in your office? You alluded to them not being critical above (I ask as a T10 student with pretty mediocre - but not bad - grades), but I want to clarify.

[Crazy4lawzzz]

I really wonder what psychological motivations make ppl want to pursue DA jobs.

[vamedic03]

I really wonder what psychological motivations make ppl want to pursue DA jobs.

Are you an elaborate flame?

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 1L at a T10 who applied to a few DA's offices in NYC, but I am having trouble getting interviews.
Other than DA and USAO gigs, what summer jobs do you think DA's offices like in new hires?

I think anything criminal law or public service related. Public defenders offices, legal aid organizations, civil gov't offices like state AGs, city law departments, federal agencies, etc.

Thanks - ended up scoring an internship with a DA's office in NY .

Question: How important are grades/school rank for being hired as an ADA in your office? You alluded to them not being critical above (I ask as a T10 student with pretty mediocre - but not bad - grades), but I want to clarify.

OP here. Congrats on the offer. At my office grades and school matter to a point, but that's really it. Basically, one part of evaluating a candidate is seeing how smart they are, and they do that crudely by looking at where you go to school and how you did there. So the better school you go to, the more leeway you're likely to get for less than stellar grades. Grades in criminal/litigation focuses classes matter more. So a C+ in Corporations won't even come up in an interview, but a C+ in Crim or Evidence almost certainly would.

[socraticmethodman]

I'm a 1L at a T10 who applied to a few DA's offices in NYC, but I am having trouble getting interviews.
Other than DA and USAO gigs, what summer jobs do you think DA's offices like in new hires?

I think anything criminal law or public service related. Public defenders offices, legal aid organizations, civil gov't offices like state AGs, city law departments, federal agencies, etc.

Thanks - ended up scoring an internship with a DA's office in NY .

Question: How important are grades/school rank for being hired as an ADA in your office? You alluded to them not being critical above (I ask as a T10 student with pretty mediocre - but not bad - grades), but I want to clarify.

OP here. Congrats on the offer. At my office grades and school matter to a point, but that's really it. Basically, one part of evaluating a candidate is seeing how smart they are, and they do that crudely by looking at where you go to school and how you did there. So the better school you go to, the more leeway you're likely to get for less than stellar grades. Grades in criminal/litigation focuses classes matter more. So a C+ in Corporations won't even come up in an interview, but a C+ in Crim or Evidence almost certainly would.

So would you say that grades in relevant courses (Crim, Con Law, Evidence, etc) are more important than class rank?

[pkt63]

Why did you choose DA over USAO for a full-time job, or for that matter an AGs office? What would you say the differences are in work environment and work product? Is it harder to get one than the others?

[BruceWayne]

Why did you choose DA over USAO for a full-time job, or for that matter an AGs office? What would you say the differences are in work environment and work product? Is it harder to get one than the others?

You can't work at an USAO immediately after graduating law school.

[pkt63]

Why did you choose DA over USAO for a full-time job, or for that matter an AGs office? What would you say the differences are in work environment and work product? Is it harder to get one than the others?

You can't work at an USAO immediately after graduating law school.

Aha. Forgive the uninformed question...that's what an 0L gets for invading the legal employment forum. Hopefully I learn all this stuff quickly when I start school.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 1L at a T10 who applied to a few DA's offices in NYC, but I am having trouble getting interviews.
Other than DA and USAO gigs, what summer jobs do you think DA's offices like in new hires?

I think anything criminal law or public service related. Public defenders offices, legal aid organizations, civil gov't offices like state AGs, city law departments, federal agencies, etc.
Thanks - ended up scoring an internship with a DA's office in NY .

Question: How important are grades/school rank for being hired as an ADA in your office? You alluded to them not being critical above (I ask as a T10 student with pretty mediocre - but not bad - grades), but I want to clarify.

OP here. Congrats on the offer. At my office grades and school matter to a point, but that's really it. Basically, one part of evaluating a candidate is seeing how smart they are, and they do that crudely by looking at where you go to school and how you did there. So the better school you go to, the more leeway you're likely to get for less than stellar grades. Grades in criminal/litigation focuses classes matter more. So a C+ in Corporations won't even come up in an interview, but a C+ in Crim or Evidence almost certainly would.

So would you say that grades in relevant courses (Crim, Con Law, Evidence, etc) are more important than class rank?

[/quote]
Yes, in my office.

[Anonymous User]

Why did you choose DA over USAO for a full-time job, or for that matter an AGs office? What would you say the differences are in work environment and work product? Is it harder to get one than the others?

Neither the AG's office in my state or the USAOs here do entry level hiring. The AG does mostly civil work, which isn't what I'm into anyways.

The work environment is very different. AGs tend to do long-term litigation, taking cases to court over years and years. They also defend state agencies in court. Their criminal powers are somewhat limited here (but this varies by state), they they focus on medicaid fraud and public corruption. DAs offices give you more cases that go quickly through the courts and often result in trials.

[Anonymous User]

"There still are a lot of federal grants out there, which is helping things."

OP- you mentioned that there are federal grants available. Mind elaborating on the available grants and how to apply for them? For starters, where can one begin?

[Moxie]

"There still are a lot of federal grants out there, which is helping things."

OP- you mentioned that there are federal grants available. Mind elaborating on the available grants and how to apply for them? For starters, where can one begin?

I think the OP meant for DA offices to continue running despite economic setbacks in numerous states and municipalities.

[Anonymous User]

"There still are a lot of federal grants out there, which is helping things."

OP- you mentioned that there are federal grants available. Mind elaborating on the available grants and how to apply for them? For starters, where can one begin?

I think the OP meant for DA offices to continue running despite economic setbacks in numerous states and municipalities.

Yes. The federal government offers local DA's offices a lot of grants for certain types of programs (DV, Drugs, etc.). DAs in turn use the money to hire support staff and assistants. It's not a huge boon, but it does mean there are some openings across the country.